St Helens will always be a quality side but we don’t fear them says Huddersfield’s Paul Anderson

WHETHER it was fate, luck, or a fixture planner with a sense of the dramatic, both coaches appear to be taking the prospect of tomorrow’s opening Super League clash between St Helens and Huddersfield Giants in their stride.

St Helens will always be a quality side but we don’t fear them says Huddersfield’s Paul Anderson

WHETHER it was fate, luck, or a fixture planner with a sense of the dramatic, both coaches appear to be taking the prospect of tomorrow’s opening Super League clash between St Helens and Huddersfield Giants in their stride.

Saints boss Nathan Brown was in charge at Huddersfield last year but departed midway through the season after it was announced he would be crossing the Pennines for 2013.

It was an announcement that led to (or coincided with, depending on your point of view) a dramatic downturn in the Giants’ fortunes. Having led the field early on, they eventually limped over the line in eighth place before being convincingly dumped out of the play-offs by Hull.

It afforded Brown a lengthy period of rest and recuperation before taking up his contract at Langtree Park.

It also left his assistant, and the man who took over from him, Paul Anderson, to pick up the pieces.

Anderson, a former St Helens prop, is keen to move on from last season and put his own stamp on Huddersfield.

He knows an away trip to St Helens isn’t what anybody would call an easy start to the new campaign but he remains undaunted.

He told the ECHO: “Saints will always be a quality team.

“Playing them away in Round One is a challenge for us but it’s not one I’m afraid of and our group isn’t afraid of it.

“One thing I don’t want to do is to compare Giants 2013 to Giants 2012.

“They’re a different group and it’s something I’ve not thought about so it doesn’t bother me. We’re a different group with a different mentality.”

The truth is, Brown and Anderson are really good mates.

The man widely known as ‘Baloo’ was one of the first people Brown confided in after Saints had approached him.

And Anderson, after a brief pretence of animosity between the pair, is quick to acknowledge how Brown has helped his career.

“I don’t like him; he’s an Aussie!,” he joked.

“No, he’s a good bloke.

“I’ll be honest; Browny’s helped me in a hell of a lot of areas with regards to my coaching.

“He’s been great for me. But it’s Huddersfield v Saints at the weekend and that’s the be all and end all. The winners will be grinners.”

The two sides went head-to-head in a pre-season game just three weeks ago with Saints cruising to a 26-0 victory.

However, Anderson played his cards very close to his chest with his team selection on that occasion and is expecting his side to be much more competitive this time around.

“We had eight or nine people not playing in that game,” Anderson said.

“We had a mixture of expereince and kids out there.

“I didn’t lose any sleep over that game, let’s put it that way.

“They’ve got a style of play I’m a little bit familiar with.

“On the left hand side of the field they’ve got Willie Manu and Jon Wilkin teaming up and on the right hand side they’ve got Gaskell linking with Sia Soliola.

“But they key thing is they’re going to keep doing what they do and it’s about stopping them.”

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Alastair Machray was appointed editor of The Liverpool Echo in 2005 and is also editor-in-chief of Trinity Mirror Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales. He is a former editor of The Daily Post (Wales and England) and editor-in-chief of the company's Welsh operations. Married dad-of-two and keen golfer Alastair is one of the longest-serving newspaper editors in the country. His titles have won numerous awards and spearheaded numerous successful campaigns.